Blackstone told investors Anthropic may not receive an investment-grade rating immediately after its IPO, a reversal that could complicate the AI lab’s ability to finance massive spending. The private capital giant now expects a “high” junk rating, likely in the double B range, rather than the previously anticipated investment-grade status. This shift limits the pool of capital Anthropic can access, as many insurance and pension funds are barred from holding junk-rated debt.
Anthropic filed to go public in what could be the largest listing ever, planning to spend over $800bn on computing infrastructure by 2045. The company holds more than $112bn in cash and expects to raise around $100bn from the IPO. Blackstone’s funds have committed $9bn to junior debt in the $63bn “Project North Star” chip financing deal, yielding over 10%.
The deal includes $42bn in senior loans guaranteed by Broadcom, whose investment-grade rating was crucial. US tech stocks fell sharply after the report, with the Nasdaq 100 down 4.2%.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing